Page 92 of Mr. Frosty Pants
“It’s a sign.” Casey grinned, his heart full.
“A sign that climate change is real? Yeah.”
Casey rolled his eyes, and they laughed as Bruno shot out of the dog door again and bounced around, leaping to catch snowflakes in his giant maw. They put on their coats and shoes and joined him, making snow angels by the colorful lights strung along the trailer.
When they were soaked, with fat snowflakes caught in their hair, they hurried back inside, leaving Bruno to run around as much as he liked. Shivering, they stripped to their boxers and hung their wet clothes in the bathroom. Casey was relieved they’d left the space heaters on high so the trailer was warm and toasty.
Joel let out a long breath. He reached out for Casey as though seeking comfort. He pressed his whole body against Casey, tucking his head beneath Casey’s chin and holding on tight.
Skin against skin aside from their boxers, Casey wrapped him up in his arms and rubbed his cheek across the top of Joel’s head. He wanted to kiss him again but wasn’t sure if that’s what Joel was going for or not.
“C’mon,” Joel said, breaking away and pulling Casey toward the living room. “We almost forgot presents. I’ve got something for you. Something special.”
Casey sat on the sofa and gestured toward the box he’d put under the tree earlier when Joel was away. “I have something for you too.”
Joel distributed the gifts—two for Casey and one for Joel. Casey immediately wished he’d spent more on Joel. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to go overboard or make Joel feel stingy, so he’d just bought the one thing. But now he wished he had more.
“Go first,” Casey said. “I got it for you yesterday. I hope you like it.”
Joel opened the gift and grinned, holding up the gold glitter-dusted tin star. “It’s perfect. Thanks.”
“Do you really like it? No pressure.”
Joel stood up and placed it on top of the tree, going up on his tiptoes to do it. “It looks great. Perfect, like I said. Thank you.”
Casey let out a breath of relief. It could have been worse. Joel seemed to genuinely like the star. He stood beside the tree and admired it for a minute before clapping his hands together and sitting by Casey again. Casey loved the way the Christmas lights played on Joel’s pale skin.
“Okay, your turn. Open the big one first.”
Casey worked open the tape and shoved back the paper to reveal a miniature Blow Mold Nativity set, about one-fourth the size of the one in Mr. Maples’s yard or Joel’s store. “Is this…?”
“So you can kiss Mary every year.” Joel laughed.
Casey grinned. “I’d rather kiss you every year.”
Joel shrugged. “I’d be okay with that.”
Casey’s heart somersaulted. “Do you mean it?”
“Yeah.”
“I was an idiot to kiss Mary instead of you.”
“Yeah, well, we were both idiots back then. I’d say I was worse with all the bullshit stories about making out with girls and trying to keep you at arm’s length.”
“I get it. You were scared. It was for your safety.”
“It was.” Joel shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling. “Anyway, I grabbed that from the stock at the store. I thought it’d make you laugh, and it’s small enough to fit in your place in New York. Or wherever you end up.”
Casey looked around the living room. “It’d look pretty good in that corner.”
“Yeah, like I said.” Joel scratched at his eyebrow with his thumb, but he spoke clearly despite his shaking voice. “Wherever you end up.”
Casey smiled. “Thank you.”
Joel tapped the smaller package. “And now that one.”
Casey opened the gift and stared down at a black jewelry box. “It’s… Is it?”
